The rhetorical wrangling between Texas Republicans and the Obama administration over the federal response to raging Texas wildfires became more contentious today when Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison joined Gov. Rick Perry to blast the White House for denying Texas’ request for a federal disaster declaration.

The Obama administration quickly responded that it has offered 22 different kinds of federal assistance to Texas in recent months.

Sen. John Cornyn (AP photo)

Bottom line: Texas officials, caught in a state budget squeeze, want the federal government to send more aid to defray their costs. Federal officials, facing a record deficit, are being more selective in their use of “major disaster” declarations such as the one that followed the widespread devastation of Hurricane Ike or the recent Alabama tornadoes that killed hundreds of people.

Cornyn and Hutchison yesterday sent a letter to Obama asking him to approve Perry’s previous request to declare Texas a disaster area. Their answer came swiftly: No.

“When nearly 7,000 individual wildfires burn through more than 2.2. million acres, result in loss of life, and destroy homes, businesses, farms and ranches across the state, it’s hard to understand how these conditions don’t spell ‘disaster’ for this administration,” Cornyn said this morning.

Hutchison this afternoon called the decision “extremely disappointing.”

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (AP photo)

“We’ve suffered major agriculture and livestock losses and many Texans have lost their homes,” she said. “We need to equip communities with all of the tools and resources possible to effectively battle and recover from these fires. I am sure the governor will work with the administration to ensure all the requirements are met for timely delivery of this disaster aid.”

Texas officials strongly believe that the feds are not doing enough.

“I am dismayed that this administration has denied Texans the much needed assistance they deserve,” Perry declared. “It is not only the obligation of the federal government, but its responsibility under law to help its citizens in times of emergency.”

Federal Emergency Management Administration spokeswoman Rachel Racusen says the administration has been working for months to aid Texas.

“This administration, through FEMA, has been working closely with the state throughout the duration of these fires, and we are supporting the firefighting efforts,” she said. “In fact, we have already approved 25 fire management assistance grants in recent to help cover expenses for these emergency response efforts, including 19 grants in April.”

Racusen said the administration believes “at this time” that the ongoing federal assistance to Texas is sufficient.

“Based on the information the state provided to FEMA through this process, it was determined that there was not a need for additional support at this time as the federal assistance is already being provided to Texas for response activities in the form of the Fire Management Assistance Grants,” she said.

Current federal aid covers 75 percent of Texas’s costs for emergency response work, such as evacuations, equipment, field camps and meals for firefighters, police barricading and traffic control. The agency’s regional office in Denton continues to monitor the situation and work closely with Texas Forest Service and Texas Division of Emergency Management, FEMA officials say. In addition, firefighting teams from more than 30 states have provided state-to-state support for firefighting efforts in Texas.

But FEMA’s response does not satisfy the Texas Republican officials.

“We’ve yet to enter the hottest months of the year and already wildfires have wreaked havoc in Texas –- yet our state has not received sufficient federal disaster aid,” Cornyn said. “I will not stop fighting until Texas receives its due attention from President Obama and his administration.”

Administration officials explain that fires are treated differently in disaster declarations than tornadoes or hurricanes because there are no no tornado or hurricane assistance management grants like there are for fires.

Gov. Rick Perry (AP photo)

Perry recently suggested that Obama is pursuing a political vendetta against Texas, citing the Alabama tornado disaster declaration and the failure to make a similar declaration for Texas.

“Why are you taking care of Alabama, why are you taking care of other states, and for some reason,” Perry said Thursday at a news conference in San Antonio, pausing in midsentence before adding, “The letter didn’t get lost in the mail.”

After the latest rejection, Perry said the state will “look at all of our options” to obtain federal aid.

“Our state has become a model for the nation in disaster preparedness and response, but Texas is reaching its capacity to respond to these emergencies,” he said. “We will immediately look at all of our options, including appealing the denial, so Texans can receive the resources and support they need as wildfires continue to threaten life and property across our state.”

Despite state officials’ complaints, Racusen insists that the federal government continues to aid Texas.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and peers of the fallen firefighters in Texas, and the families and communities being impacted by these wildfires, and we continue to thank the firefighters and first responders who have been heroically working around the clock,” she said. “We will continue to work closely with the state and local emergency management officials as their efforts to contain these fires continue.”